Newsletter

Editorial: Hardeeville gets unwanted attention from Columbia

The city of Hardeeville has drawn the attention of some folks in Columbia. And not because of the proposed resort-casino at Hilton Head Lakes or the city’s economic development efforts.

The State Ethics Commission last week deemed that there was probable cause in an ethics complaint filed in March against the Hardeeville Municipal Election Commission by City Council candidate Scott Ready.

Ready was wrongly disqualified by the three-woman local election commission for what amounted to a clerical error on his statement of economic interest form during the candidate filing period.

Ready appealed the decision, won reversal and also filed a complaint with the state alleging conflict of interest by the local election commission. Why the complaint has merit is simple. The chair of the election commission is Joyce Meeks, mother-in-law of Roy Powell, a sitting City Councilman who at the time was seeking re-election.

Had Ready’s disqualification not been reversed and had he not filed as a write-in candidate, Powell and Mike Sweeney would have been elected without an election as there were just two seats at stake in the May 8 city elections.

As it turned out, Powell did not win re-election and Ready and Sweeney won the two seats.

We have questioned before why Meeks did not recuse herself from the process. And we also take issue with the fact that the local election commission is appointed by City Council. It seems odd that the local election commission has authority over the certification of local candidates like the mayor and members of council whom they were appointed by in the first place.

The saga continues for Hardeeville as the hearing in this complaint was set for September and that’s a lot of time for more interesting rulings and decisions in Hardeeville to occur. Although it also gives time for the city manager, mayor and City Council to take a closer look at this local election commission, how it is appointed, why it exists and decide if it is even necessary.

We’re all for putting Hardeeville and this region on the map, but we want it to be for the right reasons.

The Ready vs. Meeks ethics complaint is what we consider unwanted attention from Columbia.